Nihon Hidankyo facts for kids
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| Founded | 10 August 1956 |
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| Focus | Abolition of nuclear weapons |
| Headquarters | Shibadaimon, Minato, Tokyo |
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Area served
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Japan |
| Method | Lobbying |
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Executive director
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Sueichi Kido |
| Award(s) | 2024 Nobel Peace Prize |
The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, often called Nihon Hidankyō, is a group that helps people who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These survivors are known as hibakusha. The group was started in 1956.
Nihon Hidankyō works to get better support for the victims from the Japanese government. They also ask governments around the world to get rid of all nuclear weapons. They have collected thousands of stories from survivors. They also send groups to places like the United Nations every year to speak about nuclear disarmament.
The organization received the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. They earned this award for their efforts to create a world without nuclear weapons. They also showed, through survivor stories, that nuclear weapons should never be used again.
Contents
A Look at Their History
Nihon Hidankyō is a group that covers all of Japan. It was formed by groups of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These groups were in different parts of Japan.
In 1954, the United States did a nuclear test called Castle Bravo. This test happened at Bikini Atoll. It caused radiation sickness in people living nearby and on a Japanese fishing boat called Daigo Fukuryū Maru. This event led to the creation of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima in 1955.
Inspired by this, atomic bomb survivors started Nihon Hidankyō on August 10, 1956. This happened at the council's second yearly meeting in Nagasaki.
Over time, there were some disagreements within the larger movement. Nihon Hidankyō decided in 1965 not to take sides in political arguments. This helped them focus on their main goal: helping survivors and working for peace.
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What Nihon Hidankyō Does
As of October 2024, Nihon Hidankyō works on several important things:
- They ask for all nuclear weapons to be removed. They also ask for help for the survivors.
- They send requests to the Japanese government, the United Nations, and other governments.
- They want to get rid of nuclear weapons and create a worldwide agreement to ban them. They also want more support for hibakusha.
- They teach people in Japan and around the world about what happened during the atomic bombings.
- They do research, publish books, hold exhibitions, and organize meetings about the damage caused by atomic bombs.
- They offer advice and help to hibakusha.
Important People in the Group
Current Leaders
Co-chairs
- Terumi Tanaka: He was 13 years old and 3.2 km from the Nagasaki bomb. He became a co-chair on June 14, 2017.
- Shigemitsu Tanaka: He was 4 years old and 6 km from the Nagasaki bomb. He became a co-chair on June 14, 2018.
- Toshiyuki Mimaki: He was 3 years old at his home in Hiroshima when the bomb hit. He became a co-chair on June 9, 2022.
Secretary General
- Sueichi Kido: He was 5 years old in Nagasaki when the bomb hit. He became secretary general on June 7, 2017.
Assistant Secretaries General
- Toshiko Hamanaka
- Jiro Hamasumi
- Michiko Kodama
- Masako Wada
Past Leaders
- Ichiro Moritaki: He was a founding leader of Nihon Hidankyō. He passed away on January 25, 1994.
- Sumiteru Taniguchi: He was badly hurt by the Nagasaki bomb at age 16. He was a co-chair until his death on August 20, 2017.
- Takeshi Ito: He was in Hiroshima City when the bomb hit. He was a co-chair until his death on March 3, 2000.
- Sunao Tsuboi: He was badly hurt by the Hiroshima bomb at age 20. He was a co-chair until his death on October 24, 2021.
- Mikiso Iwasa: He was badly hurt by the Hiroshima bomb at age 16. He was a co-chair until his death on September 7, 2020.
Awards and Recognition
Nihon Hidankyō has received several important awards for their work:
- 2003: Seán MacBride Peace Prize
- 2010: Award for Social Activism from the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates
- 2024: Nobel Peace Prize
Before winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Nihon Hidankyō was also nominated for it in 1985, 1994, and 2015. These nominations came from the International Peace Bureau in Switzerland.
See also
- Anti-nuclear movement
- Anti-nuclear power movement in Japan
- International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
